British Bulldog tipped for WWE Hall of Fame

It is a matter of ‘when’ – not ‘if’ – the late Davey Boy Smith is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

That’s the view of current star Jinder Mahal, who believes the British Bulldog deserves to be formally recognised for his ring exploits.

Smith, who hailed from Golborne, is still fondly remembered for the impact he made in the then-WWF from the 1980s until his untimely death in 2002, aged just 39.

He wrestled alongside his cousin Tom Billington, another Wiganer, in the British Bulldogs before going on to carve out a successful career on his own which included winning the Intercontinental title at Wembley Stadium in 1992.

The next wave of inductees into the Hall of Fame will be made next month and Mahal, a current star on WWE’s Smackdown Live brand, would love to see Smith included. He told The Independent: “From tagging with The Dynamite Kid to breaking out on his own, his career had a great evolution.

“He started in Stampede Wrestling in Calgary for Stu Hart and before that had been training in England before being brought in with Dynamite, and of course that classic, classic match against Bret Hart at Summerslam – that’s one of my all-time favourite matches.

“He’s just a great, great superstar in the history of WWE, so I don’t think it is a matter of if he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but when he’ll become a member.”

Smith’s son, Harry, has continued his dad’s legacy, competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling after a spell with the WWE under the ring name ‘Davey Boy Smith Jnr’.

The 32-year-old, born in Canada, recently spoke about his memories of his late dad.

“I was always a massive fan of action figures when I was a child, and I think my earliest memories was probably playing with my Dad and Dynamite figures,” he told the Prime Time podcast with Sean Mooney.

“I remember when I got into elementary school, and when kids would find out who my dad was. I was never really the bragging type, but another kid would be like, ‘Do you know who his dad is? It’s The British Bulldog from TV’, and other kids wouldn’t believe it.

“And then my dad would pick me up in his car and all the kids’ eyes went completely wide – and some of the teachers too.

“I didn’t see my dad a whole lot. As funny as it sounds, I got to know him a lot from watching television, as I saw him on it. When he would come home, I’d ask him all of these questions about the wrestlers.”

Smith is set to appear at the Wigan Comic-Con on May 26.

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